Dream
by theheartstourniquet
Summary: "My dream for the future ?...I dont have a dream" If you could hear the wind and the tree's. if you could listen to the earth as it shifted under you. would you listen? "My name is Chi Roiryaru. I like to listen…." He shuffled nervously, hooded head tilted toward the ground. But if you could LISTEN like i do, what would you do ? " I would dream "
1. Chapter 1

The day was bright and sunny as usual for the village of Konoha. People meandered through the streets ,shopping, socializing or simply looking for something to do. A light breeze flowed through the village, giving much needed relief to those in the ninja academy. Today was the graduation test. If they passed they would get their leaf headbands. Something that one Naruto Uzumaki wanted desperately. As Iruka-sensei was starting off the instructions a knock sounded on the shoji door.

"Uh, Come in" Iruka-sensei said, slightly put off that someone would interrupt at a time like this. A single Anbu came in and walked up to him. The Anbu whispered in Iruka-sensei's ear and as the Neko-Anbu stepped back Iruka-sensei stared at the person annoyed.

"Are you kidding me?"

"…." The Anbu was quite. They didn't need to answer that question.

"Fine, I don't understand how he expects him to pass on the exact day of the test but orders are orders…. I guess" Iruka sensei sighed and brought a hand to rub at his scarred nose. The paper in his other hand shifted as he rested that hand on his hip. The Anbu nodded and turned to the, still-open, door. The Anbu jerked his head in a way to say 'come here'. Through the door came a small figure draped in a black thin cloth that was wrapped around them and had a hood. They had sleeves from a jacket underneath that was a worn gray. The cloth came to about their knee and they wore some type of black boots that seemed to be made of a type of shiny woven material. The boots had silver clasps at the ankles on the inside and was reinforced at the head and back of the foot by black rubber. All in all…..everyone in the room held instant suspicion.

Iruka-Sensei turned to the class after giving the new arrival a strange look. The Anbu went about writing the child's name on the chalkboard and left.

"Everyone this is uh, Chi Roiryaru. He'll be a part of this class now." Iruka said while scratching his head and glancing at the small figure that shuffled nervously behind him. Iruka sighed and pushed the figure toward the seats. The small child whose face couldn't be seen behind the hood looked back at him.

"Just…find a seat somewhere." The child nodded and sat next to boy with a high collar and black shades. They seemingly observed each other before returning their attention back to Iruka.

"Now, when your name is called go to the testing room where-"and the class continued on like that. Students were called and went to the testing room where they had to show their clone jutsu. One boy with blonde hair and an orange jump suit was grabbing at his hair in dismay.

.

.

The cloaked child stared at the headband in their hand. The metal plate on the cloth had a symbol engraved that was very important to the village and all the ninja that adorned it but it held little to no meaning to the small child that stared at it wondering. The heavily cloaked child sat in a tree, the same that the little blonde boy was in, sitting on a swing, depressed. The cloaked child looked at the forlorn boy who was watching other kids show their parents their new headband. He was sitting on the seat sideways and the cloaked child shifted.

Naruto Uzumaki looked up as the tree rustled. The new kid was sitting up in one of the branches. Naruto saw that the kid had a headband and grinded his teeth. Naruto put his goggles on his forehead and turned in surprise as a figure jumped off the tree. The cloaked child looked at this new arrival, contemplating what to do now that he was no longer alone with the young boy. The child simply decided to leave and jumped up and out of the tree, disappearing in mid-air. The mischievous silver haired jounin grinned down at Naruto.

.

.

During the night the child found their way to a roof, one of many in the huge village. The child was no longer bundled up in the black cloth but still wore their gray jacket with sleeves that covered their hands. The hem of the jacket went to mid-thigh and they wore baggy pants that disappeared under bandaging under the knee that then disappeared under the shiny woven cloth of their boots. There were two more silver clasps that kept the boots closed, one at mid calf and one at the top of the boot. The night was shifting in a frenzy that kept the child from sleeping. A large amount of ninja were jumping from roof to roof in a frenzy that made the winds snarl as it was disturbed from setting a cold breeze over the cooling village. There was a malicious aura that ran through the street below the figure. The child turned and watched as the jounin with silver hair ran down the street. The figure brought their gaze down to the headband they held in their hand that was covered by their jacket.

"What an interesting village" They said with a soft voice that was carried away by the agitated wind.

.

.

The cloaked child, _Chi,_ had at some point grown attached to the young Uzumaki. Often just walking around with the boy or showing up at his house in the morning. This, if you asked Naruto, was weird because he didn't recall ever telling Chi where he lived. Chi stood behind the Photographer who was taking a picture of Naruto with ridiculous paint on his face in, which Chi thought, to be most unbecoming.

The photographer lost patience with Naruto and just took the picture. Chi was cloaked again with the black material which also served as a hood and shifted when the photographer shook his head after the picture was taken. Naruto Laughed maniacally. Chi sighed.

.

They were now at the academy; the Hokage was looking over his and Naruto's picture with a scowl on his face. Naruto put his hand behind his head and laughed. The Hokage made a 'hum' sound and then Naruto just talked about how he didn't know how to do it. Chi was near the door shaking his head at Naruto.

"Take it again, both of you" Naruto jerked up from his relaxed position in the chair. Chi walked over next to him, feet patting softly on the wooden floor.

"No way!" Naruto shouted.

"We can't accept these photos's" The Hokage said with his eyes closed. Chi could tell he was losing patience and resigned to retake the photo. Chi had refused to reveal his face and instead took the photo without his face even showing but had the leaf head band around his neck on the outside of the hood and cloth.

"Yeah, Well I'm not doing it again!" Naruto exclaimed with his eyes closed. Chi bowed in understanding of the Hokage's order. A long silence followed in which Chi turned to the huge open doors to the left and watched as the wind cooled the hot trees that sighed in appreciation. Chi turned back to see the Hokage and Naruto staring each other down.

"Transform!" Naruto yelled and brought his hands in front of him in a jutsu. There was a poof of smoke as Naruto changed into a blonde naked female. Chi turned away and shook his covered head as the Hokage flipped back in his chair and lay sprawled on the floor.

"Uh" Naruto said as the Hokage collected himself. Chi chose to leave at this moment, deeming to have other, more important, things to do than watch Naruto be reprimanded. Chi jumped out of the large window and disappeared in a swirl of black smoke.

As Chi walked down the street from the building he exited, he heard a familiar voice that was carried by the wind and chuckled.

"I don't care if he's your grandmother, believe it!"and a loud thud.

.

It was later on when Chi was laying in a field of grass lazily drifting off that he heard the loud exclamations of Naruto and an even younger boy. Chi sat up and looked around before lying back down and burrowing deeper into the tall grass where he drifted off into a peaceful sleep under the sun…

"Sexy no jutsu!" or at least try.

.

.

Today was the inauguration for upcoming genin. The wind was quite today and tame compared to the days before hand when it bustled about calmly or agitated. Not many civilians were out today due to that, the sun was fierce and gave off agitated waves that deterred them from coming out. The upcoming genins couldn't care less and eagerly made their way to the academy. Chi arrived by jumping through the window and was reprimanded by a girl saying to use the door when entering. Chi just stood there starring her down, the room seemingly cooled down to freezing point and the girl stepped back and turn before briskly walking away to a group of girls who started whispering.

Chi took a seat at the opposite end of a table with a boy with black hair and eyes. He wore a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with a high color and uchiwa fan on the back in white and red. (I know its spelled uchiha but the type of fan is called uchiwa if I'm not mistaken. Don't judge me .)

The young boy sat with his hands supporting his head staring straight ahead. Chi paid him no mind and untied the headband from around his neck. He fiddled with the shiny item and tapped it against the desk to hear the metal make a sound. Just then Naruto plopped next to him and laid his head on the desk, smiling eagerly. Chi turned to him and patted him on the back when he caught sight of the headband on the blonde boys head. A boy with brown hair that was short and up in a ponytail walked by and stopped to chat with Naruto. Chi paid their conversation no mind and went about wiping at the metal plate in his covered hands.

Just then footsteps were heard running down the hall before two loud girls ran in. Chi watched them push and shove and argue about who came in first. All the while they were panting for air. Chi watched the pink haired girl and pale blonde girl interested at first but then growing bored. The brunette boy had apparently walked away because as Chi turned around he saw that Naruto had turned his head to watch the two girls with a smile on his face. Chi shook his head.

Naruto stood up and waved at the pink haired girl as she ran over.

"Hi Sakura, what's up!?" Naruto said happily.

"Move it!"She pushed him over, making Naruto fall into Chi and smashing them both down into the hardwood floor. Chi groaned at Naruto's weight pressed him into the cool hard floor and gasped as Naruto rolled off him.

A whole bunch of girls started crowding around; apparently this 'Sasuke' person was like an idol to the girls. Chi never thought he could hate the female gender so much right now.

Chi sat up, the thin cloth he wore spread around his body on the ground. Naruto grunted and suddenly disappeared from his position next to Chi. Suddenly he was crouching in front of Sasuke, starring him down. Sakura yelled at Naruto, telling him to stop glaring at Sasuke. Naruto turned his head to her, looking at her before bringing his attention back to Sasuke. All the girls started arguing and Chi finally got up and went to sit next to this Sasuke person. Chi didn't understand why all the girls liked him. Sure he was decent looking but Chi could tell that he was a real jerk. A boy sitting in the desk in front of theirs leaned back and accidently nudged Naruto. Naruto was pushed into Sasuke and …you know what happened. -.-''

"What the..." Sakura said at the sight of Naruto and Sasuke kissing. Chi sweat dropped and slumped in the seat and started chuckling softly. Naruto and Sasuke pulled apart, hands clasped around their throats and gagging. Naruto turned to the irate girls, feeling the danger in the air. The girls made to grab at Naruto but Chi turned to them and held out a hand over Naruto. The room got quite as a deep growl vibrated through the room. Red glowing orbs stared the girls down and they all backed away.

"Uh" the girls looked amongst themselves and chose to back away from the looming threat.

.

Soon after Iruka sensei showed up and everyone settled into their seats. Chi took his seat from before on the end of the desk and Naruto sat next to him with Sakura on the other side with Sasuke sitting next to her. He went about grouping the genin into squads of three. One group being the exception and being grouped with four. Naruto was overjoyed to be in a group with Sakura but it was dampened by the fact that Sasuke would be in their group. Chi honestly didn't care which group he was in as long as he was with Naruto. Sakura was happy and smug that she would be with Sasuke but annoyed she was in the same group as Naruto. Sasuke hated all of them.

Afterwards they left for lunch. Chi knew that Naruto would want to eat with Sakura and decided to bid his time on the roof. He pulled out a jar of green liquid and opened it then pulled a spoon out of nowhere and scooped up some of the, now discovered to be, slime. A thick string of slime stuck to the spoon as it was pulled away before the goop fell back in. Chi ate the slime happily, swallowing the luminescent goo.

Shikamaru came to the roof all the time. This time though he didn't expect to see the weird new kid eating a strange green substance that made him shiver in disgust. Shikamaru decided to go eat with loud-mouth Ino and Choji.

"What a drag" He sighed and jumped to another roof.

. (Right here isn't really going to be like episode 4 since I can't find it and I'm going off of memory.)

Chi walked down the hall toward class. Up ahead a door opened and out walked Naruto clutching his stomach and grumbling. He looked up and waved slightly to Chi. Chi patted him on the back and hummed as they went. Chi walked in first with Naruto close behind, Sakura was pacing back and forth agitated.

"You guys are late! Everybody already left with their jounin! Where were you exactly, huh?" Sakura said glaring at them as they walked passed. Chi went to sit with Sasuke at their desk. Naruto stood with Sakura looking around.

"Oh yeah, well where is our jounin?" Naruto said smartly to Sakura.

"Their late" Sakura said, obviously holding in the urge to pummel Naruto.

Five minutes later found Naruto on a chair wedging a chalk board eraser between the shoji door and wall.

"That's a bad idea Naruto. You're going to make our jounin mad" Sakura was trying to convince Naruto not to prank their jounin. Chi thought that she wasn't doing a very good job at it but honestly didn't care if Naruto did what he pleased.

"Serves him right! I'll show our jounin not to be late, believe it!" Naruto grinned and got down before putting the chair back.

"I'm telling you Naruto this isn't a good idea!" there were footsteps in the hall and Naruto grinned, laughing a bit. A foot stepped through the threshold before a hand and body followed. The eraser landed on the silver headed jounin with a soft pat, white smoke coming up. The jounin walked in, the eraser falling to the ground eliciting more white smoke. The jounin assigned to team seven walked in and appraised the squad he was assigned to. Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, the survivor of the Uchiha Massacre, Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuriki and village nuisance, and Roiryaru Chi. His gaze lingered on Chi for a moment longer, taking in the strange child's apparel.

"My first impression of all of you…..you're al idiots" Sasuke glared at the silver haired man. Chi turned away from him, indignant. Sakura sputtered and Naruto began yelling.

.

.

They were all now on the roof. Team seven sitting four in a row with their jounin sensei standing before them.

"Now we're going to start with introductions first. I want you to go one by one and introduce yourself, say what you like, what you don't like and you're dreams for the future. I'll star off first. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like many things and dislike few things. As of yet I have no dreams for the future. Now you" Naruto jumped up eagerly and immediately started speaking in a loud voice.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen and I don't like Sasuke-teme! I'm going to be the next Hokage! Believe it!" he finished smiling wide from ear to ear. Chi clapped his hands in approval of Naruto, the sound muffled by his long sleeves.

"Me next!" Sakura jumped up after Naruto sat down.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like uh..."Sakura glanced to the side at Sasuke.

"I dislike annoying people like Naruto" He gave off crocodile tears while saying 'That's so mean Sakura-Chan, why'd you go and say that?" Chi patted his back comfortingly, feeling for his heartbroken brother. (No they are not related but I'm saying it like how ppl call others bro and stuff, ykno?"

"And my dreams for the future….." Sakura glanced at Sasuke, drool coming out of her mouth and a blush on her face. Sakura sat down and Sasuke stood up.

"I guess I'll go next. My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like nothing. I dislike everything. My dream for the future…" A stony look came to his face, eyes hard in malicious hate.

"To kill a certain someone"

Kakashi sweat dropped as the dark haired boy sat down. He then turned his attention to his one quiet student who had yet to say a word. The child stood and shuffled nervously, turning to Naruto and then to Kakashi. He spoke quietly in a low voice as if what he was saying was a secret that only certain people were privy to know.

"My name is Chi Roiryaru. I like to listen…." He shuffled nervously, hooded head tilted toward the ground.

"I don't like annoying people with big foreheads…like Haruno-San. I…..don't have a dream"

Naruto and Sasuke held Sakura back as the irate girl tried to throttle the cloaked boy. Kakashi knew he had his work cut out for him this time.

**I tend to day dream about oc's I make up and I decided to put one of them here. So r&r if you like it or criticize it. Flames are welcome. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**Hidden among the thorns**

**TheHeartsTourniquet **


	2. Chapter 2

It was a nice day for a Survival test. The wind was at ease and whispered sweet nothings into Chi's ear. The sun was embracing everything within sight, causing the grass and trees to sigh in happiness of its soft rays. Chi shifted in the shade behind a tree, doing little to conceal his presence and hide. Kakashi was currently busy with an attacking Naruto. Chi shook his hooded head as Kakashi disappeared and Naruto started fighting amongst his own shadow clones. Kakashi suddenly appeared in a branch above Chi, watching bemused as Naruto argued with his clones and eventually released the jutsu. Chi called forth a small shadow which wrapped around his fingers, purring in love for its master. Chi brought his covered fist to his mouth and sent the small shadow on its way.

Chi looked over to where an outraged Naruto hung from a tree. Naruto's idiocy was endearing in a way, chi decided. Falling for an obvious trap the way he did was adorable. He looked up as Kakashi-sensei stood from his knelt position on the branch, glanced at him, and then jumped over to Naruto's position hanging from a tree.

Kakashi reprimanded Naruto for falling into an obvious trap and proceeded to call him an idiot then retrieved the bell from the ground. Chi narrowed his eyes at Kakashi's condescending tone and reached for one of his own kunai. Chi stopped as a barrage of kunai and shuriken headed for Kakashi and seemingly hit him. He watched with narrowed eyes as Kakashi fell but suddenly exploded in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind a log with shuriken and kunai in it.

Chi heard the trees complain loudly as a body quickly moved from branch to branch. By the way the trees described him and insulted his attributes he could tell that it was Sasuke who was on the move and most likely the one who attacked Kakashi. Chi saw Sakura move from her position under a bush and run off. He picked up a fallen twig and walked over to a, still hanging, Naruto who stared at chi annoyed. Chi took to pocking at Naruto and even began tickling him with the stick.

"Hahahaha C-cut it out Chi! Hahahaha Cut m-me d-down! O-oi! Stop that! Ouch! Damn it!" chi stopped tickling him and began to poke him in the face earning complaints from the now irritated Naruto who swatted at the stick.

"Agh ! Cut it out! Eek! Blegh!" the stick accidently went into Naruto's mouth and he gagged and spat. Chi sat down and settled to just poke at Naruto's head. Naruto resigned to let Chi do what he wished without complaint. It was obvious he wasn't going to help him out by cutting him down so he just hung there listening to his stomach complain because of its empty contents.

The two suddenly heard a feminine scream. Naruto turned his head in the direction it originated from and uttered a soft "Sakura-chan..." Chi chose this moment to poke him particularly hard.

"Will you cut that out!?"

.

Naruto had eventually thought to cut himself down but only ended up trapped again. This time after a bit more prodding at the blonde's head Chi decided to have mercy and flicked a kunai at the rope, effectively releasing Naruto. Moments later found the two near the three bento boxes atop the stone monument behind the logs that protruded from the ground. Drool hung from Naruto's mouth as he went to grab one.

"Thanks for the meal!" he said, a huge smile on his beaming face. Kakashi suddenly appeared kneeling on the monument, glowering down at Naruto.

"J-Just kidding" He laughed nervously. Chi chuckled. Naruto and Kakashi were soon grappling and eventually turned into a mass of punches and kicks. At some point rope was introduced and Naruto found himself tied to a log, his stomach rumbling angrily at him. Chi sat next to him and all three of them waited for Sasuke and Sakura to show up after the timer went off. A chorus of growling stomachs could be heard and Chi chuckled at the hilarity, his own stomach quiet.

"None of you need to return to the Ninja Academy" said Kakashi. Naruto smiled, his mouth open.

"What? But all I did was faint? Is that okay?" Sakura said. Sakura jumped up celebrating, Naruto moved his unrestrained legs about.

"Does that mean us four-"

"Yes, that means you four… should quit becoming ninja!" Everything became quit. The wind held its breath and the grass gasped and reassured Chi that he should keep trying. Chi paid Kakashi no mind and began to quietly whisper to the grass and reach his hand down so the grass could intertwine with his fingers; his hand still was unseen as it was covered by his sleeve. Chi looked up as Sasuke charged toward Kakashi. He felt something brush against his other hand and recognize the small presence to be the shadow he summoned earlier. It left soon after; handing over the object Chi requested it to retrieve.

"If all three of you would have come at me at once, maybe you would have gotten a bell" Kakashi said, conversing with sakura and Naruto from his position sitting on an annoyed Sasuke.

"Sensei" Chi spoke softly standing. Kakashi turned his attention to the quietest of his students. The child was strange and was always wearing that ridiculous clothing. Kakashi was sure the young boy was baking from the Konoha heat.

A soft tinker came from the boy as he dropped a bell from one sleeve into his covered hand. It tinkered as it landed and gleamed in the sun light. The wind flew about cheering and applauding the child, the grass praising him from their position on the ground. The trees clapped their branches in applause, aided by the wind.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the sight of the bell in the boys possession. Naruto and Sakura gaped at him while Sasuke glared from his rightful position in the dirt. Kakashi looked at the single bell attached to his pants accompanied by a string that, just a moment ago, he was sure held a second bell.

"How did you get it?" Kakashi was curious, the young boy hadn't even tried, and he had been with Naruto the whole time.

"A good ninja never reveals their secrets" The young boy chuckled and tossed Kakashi the bell.

"The point of this whole exercise was to use team work. I'll give you all another try after lunch" Kakashi sighed, standing and walking to the monument.

"Enjoy the bento's I prepared, except you Naruto."

"What!"

"This is punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat lunch early. Anyone who feeds him will immediately fail." Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Chi grabbed a bento from the monument and walked back over to Naruto. He swiped his sleeve across the ropes, cutting them and freeing Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke and already begun eating their bento.

"Chi-kun..." Naruto said as Chi handed him the bento. Naruto barely saw the smile on the boys face.

"Eat Naruto-kun"

"But what will you eat? What if Kakashi comes back?"

"We'll all fail!" Sakura urged.

"We're a team right? Teammates help each other." Chi said softly. Sakura nodded hesitantly. Naruto dug in to the bento happily. There was a large explosion of smoke and the wind blew harshly in agitation. The clouds rolled in dark and ominous but were secretly sighing at being forced to absorb so much liquid so fast. Kakashi appeared out of the huge explosion of smoke, his one eye stony and fierce.

Chi decided to ignore him and instead focused on a now arguing Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke seemed scared out off his wits but was trying to play it cool.

.

Everyone eventually settled down to eat lunch. Kakashi was still going to let them try again after lunch. They all sat down in a circle, Kakashi was up in a tree off to the side reading his IchaIcha Paradise. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke stared at Chi in confusion. The strange substance he was happily spooning out of a jar was foreign to them and sent shivers down their spine as it stretched from spoon to jar and dropped back in with an ominous splat.

"U-uh Chi, what is that?" Naruto said hesitantly. He eyes the spoon as it disappeared behind a barely visible mouth. The young boy in question scooped out more of the green translucent goo and offered it to Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke looked at Naruto as if he had just laid an egg that hatched into a dinosaur and then proceeded to kick dirt in their bento's. The sight of Naruto actually leaning forward to take the spoonful of goo within his mouth was enough for Sasuke to look at him in disgust. They all watched Naruto's reaction as he leaned back and analyzed the taste of the mysterious slime. His eyes were closed and he held a look of intense concentration on his face.

"Taste like grass" he said simply. Sakura and Sasuke looked to Chi for an explanation.

"It's actually plant material but not grass plant material. It's the leaves of various fruit trees and berry bushes. I grinded it up into a pulp and then filtered out all the solid plant material."

"Why do all that? It can't possibly taste good. Don't tell me you're on a diet?" Sakura said smiling smugly. She herself had not eaten dinner the night before claiming that she was on a diet. It was quite ironic that she had the nerve to judge someone else.

"My stomach acid isn't strong enough to digest meats or solid plant material. Meats make me very sick and my acids can't dissolve the cell wall of plants. But it can, however, digest blood and chloroplast." He started off the explanation looking down at the jar held within his covered hands but eventually looked up at Sakura as he came to the ending. To say the least Sakura scooted back away from him. A look of disgust and slight fear set firmly on her face.

Naruto looked at his friend sadly.

"So you can't eat ramen?" Chi shook his head in the negative. Naruto teared up and threw himself at the boy in a fierce hug.

"Woe is Chi! How can you go without eating the mighty awesomeness of all that is ramen! Poor chi! Poor chi!" Naruto grasped at Chi in a bone crushing hug.

"But if you can't eat everything you need to, how are you strong enough to become a ninja?" sakura asked.

"Weak" Sasuke said to himself, a small condescending smile on his face.

"I absorb the energy around me" they all stared at Chi in confusion.

"Everything has energy, whether it is plants or animals, insects or even people. I absorb an amount of that energy to keep my own energy reserves up and running." Chi fumbled with his covered hands, nervous.

"So are you absorbing energy from Naruto?" Naruto looked from Sakura to Chi, who was still held in his arms. His Bento lay forgotten next to Sakura, all lonely and what-not.

"Yes. "Naruto seemed amazed at this.

"Really?! Can I see it!?" chi was quite for a moment before a ripple was seen spreading out. Suddenly tendrils of different colored energy could be seen coming from Sakura and Naruto and into Chi. There were multiple green tendrils coming from the surrounding grass and flowing steadily into Chi. Chi looked away, nervous about having so much attention on him.

"Hey! How come you're not absorbing from Sasuke-kun?"Sakura asked indignant.

"Sasuke has very negative energy." Naruto had since released Chi to stare at the shining tendril that was coming from him and was waving his hand through it. At chi's answer to Sakura he looked blankly at Sasuke.

'Wow, Sasuke really is cool' Sakura thought.

Kakashi appeared in front of them in a cloud of white smoking. His one eye smiling and looking at all of his students. He stared at Chi for a moment, seeing the multicolored ribbons coming towards him, they quickly faded away right before his eyes.

"So, whose ready to try again?!"

.


	3. Chapter 3

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The day had carried on quickly afterwards. Team seven passed the test and would now be included into the group of passing students. Rookie 9. There were two other teams that had passed their test. Sakura was not at all happy with the fact that Ino had passed.

The day quickly melted into the night. Stars shone for their positions billions of light years away. The wind lay calm and breezed by every now and then in a soft snore. The moon shone brightly over the dark village.

I had accompanied Naruto home. He didn't mind when I came with him and made him ramen for dinner, he didn't even blink a lash when I removed the light cloth that covered my torso and acted as a hood. He was too absorbed in his meal to pay me any mind when I sat across from him. I smiled as he held out an empty bowl to me, asking for seconds. It was only then that his happy faced dropped and look of horrid surprise replaced it. He fell backwards, chair tipping back and letting the lone occupant tumble into the wall. Naruto immediately stood up, pointing at Chi.

"Your face! Your skin!" he shouted, gapping and still rudely pointing. I brought my gaze to the bowl that now lay forgotten on the floor. I knelt down and picked it then brought it over to the sink and rinsed it. Afterwards I filled the bowel with another serving of hot ramen and set it on the table. Naruto didn't fail to return to his position sitting in a now upright chair and eating his ramen. I sat down and watched him happily with half lidded eyes. The day had felt so long, hours of constant tiredness weighed heavy on my limbs. My dark red eyes caught Naruto's bright blue orbs. He had paused in his eating and was staring at me over the rim of his upturned bowl.

"So…..What's with the grey skin" Naruto said. He set the bowl and chopsticks down and starred at me with curiosity. I expected nothing less than simple curiosity from Naruto, he was never someone to judge or shun others. His aura itself although dark with a presence I knew was not his own was also a bright gold on the edges, showing that he was a wonderful person through and through. But the golden glow of his aura was dampened here and there with subtle blues that I recognized as sadness.

I knew there would be questions about my skin color but I didn't really know how to answer him. Besides just coming out and saying 'Hey I'm not human per se but that all good because I made you food so love me' and I highly doubt that qualifies as an answer.

But I could try.

"I'm not …..Human" I said looking off to the side. Naruto nodded, expecting an answer or something similar like that. He stood up and set his bowl in the sink then turned to me. I looked up at him, red clashing with blue. He smiled, one of those smiles that took over his whole face.

"It's okay. You're still my friend no matter what you are! Believe it!" I knew Naruto would never reject me because I'm different but it still brought tears to my eyes. The black liquid gathered in the corner and before they fell I whipped at them, sniffling and smiling.

"I'm glad" I said to him, my throat constricted with my emotions, making it hard to speak.

Naruto grinned, scratching behind his neck awkwardly before yawning.

"I guess it's time for bed, huh? Mind if I sleep over?" I said to him. He nodded and rubbed his eyes before making his way to bed. I chose to clean up, wiping down the table, washing the pot and all the things I used to cook with.

I took off my black cloth and grey jacket then set it on a chair and decided to lie on the couch. I sighed, the sleeplessness of the day now being able to fully weigh on my thin shoulders. I'm so used to being nocturnal and it's been so very hard to change to being diurnal. I doubt I'll every truly succeed changing. Grey hands with pointed nails intertwined atop a smooth gray stomach that rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Pale grey lips parted as breath flowed through them, glinting under the parted lips lay sharp long canines that overlapped the plump bottom lip.

It was maybe three or four hours later when Chi woke up. Light snoring could be heard from Naruto's room. The chirping of crickets along with the whispering of faint wind could be heard outside of the open window. The wind blew in, lightly caressing his bare stomach and shoulders. A white cloth wrapped around his grey chest that shown silver from the moonlight that strayed from outside. Chi sighed and got up. It would be an understatement if you said his pants hung low on his hips, for they didn't even touch his hips, but seemingly hovering around them. The pants were two sizes too big for his thin frame. Underneath his pants wrapped around his hips was a white cloth that was made of the same material that wrapped his chest.

Chi walked over to the window and promptly jumped to an adjuring rooftop. The night wind welcomed him, singing its happiness with a cooling breeze. He eventually settled down on a flat rooftop and watched the stars and lone moon that lit up the dark sky. A star streaked pass in the blink of an eye, Chi sat up quickly, finding the sight to have come and gone so fast that he hadn't had the time to truly appreciate the rock as it flew pass. Chi sighed and laid back down, a hand behind his head while the other soothed over a sore spot on the upper side of his head. Sharp nails dug into the bruised flesh that welled with black blood. Chi flicked his hand to the side, dispelling the blood that had quickly clotted on his fingers.

He continued digging and flicking and eventually switched to the other side where it was sore. Chi thought about visiting his lusus, a giant white wolf with five tails and curved golden horns atop its head. The giant animal had raised him since he was a wriggling child fresh out of wherever his kind came from. He remembers playing in the giant lusus's warm fur and how the tails gently tossed him about, catching him and tossing him again playfully. Chi remembered the cold days deep within their cave inside of a dormant volcano that was cold inside as well as out. The days were spent being cuddled with lulling warmth brought on by his lusus's furs. Chi would play with his lusus's tails while he was asleep. The tails acted as if they had a life of their own as they set about tickling him and wrestling with him, the whole while his guardian laid asleep in their shared chamber.

I remember bath time when I would streak about, running up walls away from my annoyed lusus who wanted to be done and over with the task. They bathed in a chamber that was low in the volcano and had warm water in it. There were little glowing worms at the top of the chamber that spun webs into the water, making it glow. She would grab me with one of her tails and together we would sink into the glowing water to bathe away the dirt and dust that fell from the walls and stuck to my sweat soaked skin as a sheen of mineral rich mud.

But in all of his days with his lusus he never met or even heard that there were people like him. This thought made him frown. Surely there were others like him, with grey skin, claw-like nails, long canines and red eyes surrounded by a golden color in place where white would be on humans.

Chi held a hand above his head, looking at the appendage with drying blood on the fingers and under the nails. Chi licked away the blood, recalling how his lusus would give him a quick wash by licking him clean. Her thick tongue wiping away dust and stench from his body while he grabbed at her playfully, she lay coiled around him with her many tails one-by-one brushing back his feather locks.

The thick blood played sweetly on his taste buds, his leathery tongue wiping away the blood and leaving a thin coat of saliva on his fingers. His head was now pulsing from where he agitated it and he whined, a sound that was similar to that of a wounded pup. His head was now knotted with clotted blood and he set about finding a river to rinse his hair. When he was done and back at Naruto's he felt that skin had not grown over the two hard bumps on the upper corners of his head. He settled to let it be, maybe more time was needed to heal over the self-inflicted wounds. He drifted off on the couch, asleep just as the sun began to rise.

That was the exact sight Naruto walked out to an hour later. The sun was now above the tree's, shedding little light onto the village of Konoha. Naruto wasn't much of a morning person but he needed to use the bathroom and when you gotta go you gotta go y'kno? So when he exited the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen, passing through the living room on his little journey he was surprised to see an almost bare Chi, sleeping neatly on the couch. Hands entwined on his stomach and lips parted with canines exposed.

Naruto quickly thought up a prank, heading back to his room to throw his orange jump suit on. He tiptoed into the kitchen and filled a bowl with warm water and tiptoed back to the living room. Naruto gently set the bowel of water on the floor near the couch and grasped the sleeping boys hand and set it in the bowl. Naruto grinned and looked up to see a pair of red eyes surrounded by yellow sclera glaring at his own blue orbs. Naruto jumped back and, in his haste to get away from vengeful hands, kicked the bowl, spraying water every which way. Most of the water splashed up on an unamused Chi who growled at Naruto. In a poof of smoke Naruto was gone, running down the streets at a high velocity. Chi quickly grasped his jacket and black cloth, holding them tightly as he immediately found and began chasing after Naruto.

"It was just a prank Chi!"

"You're dead Naruto!"

"Chi-!"

"Dead!"

.

.


End file.
